The Difference Between Hearing and Listening - The A-Team, Hannibal x Face

[thecrazyalaskan]

It was nice place Face had "borrowed" from the vacationing owner. Two of the highlights, he cited as the team settled in after a well-fought but ultimately successful mission, were a wraparound porch and the veranda out back—surprisingly comfortable lawn furniture, a grill, the works. Why this mattered was well beyond anyone's guess, until Face excused himself to sit out on said porch.

That made sense. What didn't make sense was when Face stayed out there when it started to rain. It almost looked like he'd fallen asleep in his lounge chair—his legs stretched out in front of him, eyes closed and hands folded on his stomach—which was how Hannibal found him a good half hour after the rain had started to fall.

Hannibal was just reaching out to shake Face's shoulder when the younger man opened his eyes and lifted his head slightly. "Hi, Hannibal," he greeted, though not looking at him.

"How'd you know it was me?" Hannibal asked.

A smile touched Face's features, except for his eyes. "Smelled your cigar," he explained as he turned to look at Hannibal—or rather, face him. It had been, what… six months since Face had been able to look at and see anyone?

Face sat back in the chair, redirecting his unseeing gaze to the flagstone patio and well-kept lawn in front of them, a second, smaller smile tugging the corner of his mouth. "Hannibal, have you ever listened to the rain?" he asked after a few moments of quiet.

The words pulled Hannibal out of his thoughts. "Hmm?"

"Really listened to it," Face went on, unaware that his superior had only been half listening. "The way it sounds when it hits the ground and the puddles, all of that. Y'ever listen to that?"

"The way you describe it, not really," Hannibal replied truthfully.

"You should try it," Face suggested. He indicated the empty chair next to him. "Come sit down."

Hannibal complied and sat down in the chair, leaning back and trying to get comfortable. Face offered him a smile and turned back to the lawn, closing his eyes to listen once more. Hannibal mirrored this, leaning his head back against the chair and closing his eyes. He could hear the rain, yes, but didn't see what Face was walking about.

"Are you listening?" Face asked after a few moments.

Hannibal opened his eyes and looked over at the younger man. "Yeah," he replied.

"You are not," Face replied, his annoyance very obvious. How he knew or what he was calling "listening" was anyone's guess, as Hannibal sure as hell didn't know.

"Here." Face sat ran, swinging his legs over the edge of the chair. He reached over, exploring the space in front of him with his hand until he found the armrest of his superior's chair. Using that as a guide and probing the concrete between the chairs for obstacles, he went to sit on the edge of the other lawn chair. He laid one hand on Hannibal's arm, and used that to guide his touch up over his shoulders, neck and face. When the opposite hand's fingers did the same and brushed against his cigar, Face fixed him with a look of disapproval until Hannibal laid aside the offending item.

That being done, Face let his hands drift upward until the heels of his hands covered Hannibal's eyes. "Can you see anything?" he asked.

"Not anymore," the other man deadpanned.  

"Good," Face announced. "Now close your eyes." He waited until he felt Hannibal's eyes shut. "Try it now—listen to the way the rain hits the roof and the pavement."

Hannibal followed Face's instruction, and listened. At first, the only real difference was that the sound was a little louder, which he could hand wave away as the product of one sense being cut off. Still, he shut up, turned off his conscious thought process, and tried it again.

Now, he could hear the individual raindrops hitting the roof overhead and the concrete of the porch in front of them. "I hear it," he said after a few moments, unable to keep the note of awe out of his voice. That was what Face was listening to this whole time?

Face smiled widely at this. "Amazing, isn't it?" he asked, pulling his hands away. "There's a real difference when you really listen."

Hannibal smiled in return, and briefly patted Face's hand as if to convey the expression to him. They remained there for several more minutes, until the rain subsided. This was something Hannibal could certainly get used to, he decided, especially if Face was willing to let him share the experience.

-.-.-.-

Title: The Difference Between Hearing and Listening
Author: TheCrazyAlaskan
Fandom / Setting: A-Team, TV-verse
Characters / Pairings: Hannibal x Face
Rating: K+
Genre: General, light romance
Summary: He’d heard then rain, but never really listened…

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Fill No. 30 for my 100 Themes – Rain

…Y’know what’s weird? When you hear a song, and it reminds you of a pairing and even though the song is completely inappropriate for the pairing, the connection’s stuck? That’s what it’s like for this. Whenever I hear Smokey Mountain Rain by Ronnie Milsap, I always think of a very depressing slant on Hannibal x Face. (Which is why you do not want to listen to this song for this fic.) But I still liked the idea of this pairing and rain. Additionally, there was a fantastic prompt on the A-Team kink meme that involved Face being blinded during a mission, but can still be productive and contribute to the team. I loved that prompt just because it’s not Face being all “oh woe is me.” He bounces back and continues to be his badass, charming self. Those two things sort of merged in my head and here we go. I didn’t want to get into the nitty gritty details on how Face lost his sight, so I suppose you can use your imagination as to what happened.

Finally sat down and wrote myself some A-Team stuff!
Did you know the fandom likes to play the Break the Cutie trope with Murdock all the time? Holy fuck, the number of noncon prompts I found on the kink meme with him in them is stunning. Additionally, someone please explain Face x Murdock to me. I dun geddit.

Ooh, someone needs to draw Face relaxing in a lounge chair. Like yesterday. xD Also, what do you think of this storyline, Face being blind? I like it and have every intention to play with it more, but I’m wondering if it’s just me.

Lately I’ve taken to pairings wherein the couple doesn’t have to say “I love you” for it to be obvious. Hmm… Oh well.

Aaanyway, I’ll shut up and let you read.

Hannibal, Face, The A-Team © Frank Lupo and Stephen J Cannell